THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD

 by adam harbinson

Probably one of the most moving books I’ve ever read is ‘My Lady of the Chimney Corner’ by Alexander Irvine. It’s the true story of a poor family who lived in Pogue’s Entry in Antrim during the potato famine. The central character is Irvine’s mother; she was the ‘Lady’ in the title who held the family, and it seems much of the community together through great poverty and hardship in the mid 1800’s. She wasn’t a religious person, but her life’s guiding principle was, ‘Love is enough.’

Nowadays Pogue‘s Entry is preserved as a memorial to the man who became Doctor Alexander Irvine and went on to devote much of his life to travelling the world, telling of God’s love for humanity. But the appeal of the story is not just that it’s true, it’s the raw earthiness of the book that makes it impossible to put down.

Here’s an extract;‘If we love for what we can get out of the loved one, if our affection has an ulterior motive, we become the architect of our own destruction. The love that lasts, the only love with any chance of permanency, is love that is based on friendship’

God’s love for us is permanent, but isn’t it interesting that Jesus told his disciples, ‘No longer do I call you servants, you are my friends - Ah! That’s our model, for what could he ever hope to get from his disciples in return for his love?

I’ve often referred to one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard; it lasted all of five minutes. The old minister read from John 15: ‘I have loved you even as the Father has loved me... Love each other in the same way as I have loved you.’ And then he read it again, and then again, and slowly it began to seep into my thick skull; Jesus loves me as much as, and in the same way as his Father loves him; totally, recklessly and unconditionally. Isn’t that life-changing? But can we love others as he loves us? It’s a tough call, but we’re more likely to at least make an effort when we understand his love for us.

I have a relative in her early twenties who sometimes admits to being fearful of marriage, so common is divorce with all its associated rejection, remorse and pain. She worries about the uncertainties and challenges, the thrills and the threats that lie beyond her horizon. I would love to be able to promise her that hers will be a marriage set in stone, to assure her that the warm glow of young love won’t turn to ashes, but I can’t, for there are no such guarantees in life.

What we can do however, regardless of our age or stage in life, is to build into our character solid principles, old-fashioned perhaps, but principles that will vastly enhance our chances of living in harmony with those whom we love, whoever they may be.

The quotation from Alexander Irvine is a good starting point, but let me add a couple that I’ve picked up along the way. Firstly, the golden rule, don’t try to change your loved ones, don’t compare them to others, just love them unconditionally, for that’s how God loves us. Secondly, don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, or as Eugene Peterson translates it, ‘Don’t go to bed angry.’ Develop the ability to forgive those who wrong you, and apologise just as freely and quickly when you inflict a wound. Work hard on it; the stakes are high but the rewards are rich.

In our human relationships we can enjoy days of heaven on earth, but they’re more likely to stand the test of time if we base them on the greatest love story ever told; God’s extravagant, selfless and undemanding love for the likes of you and me.